New Berlin wrestles with Fish Field details

NEW BERLIN – In a special meeting Monday night, the New Berlin Village Board met to discuss finalizing a deal with Milford Academy over the sale of 10 acres of public property.

Board members debated the proposed deal with Unadilla Valley Little League Baseball President Keith George, who said he and Milford’s Director Bill Chaplick were unable to come to a final agreement over roughly 45 feet of disputed property that the two programs lay claim to.

The board has been negotiating the details of the sale through Board Trustee Terry Potter and George.

Potter and George reported that they visited with Chaplick on March 24 and went over the disputed lines. Of the three little league fields along the proposed Fish Field sale, only one was in dispute. George said he had three possible solutions to the issue, but Milford was only interested in one. The only option George said was acceptable to Chaplick was having Milford buy all the disputed land and lease it to the league. “I discussed it with the Little League Board, and they didn’t like the idea. There’s no long-term guarantee,” he said.

Many of the board members criticized the method of using liaisons to negotiate the deal and requested that Chaplick come speak to the board directly.

“He needs to come to meet with us instead of having board members fictionalize over a he said, she said kind of arrangement,” said Trustee Robert Starr.